[fov]

I picked up a shrinkwrapped Planescape Torment at a thrift shop today and I'm not sure if I want to open it. Can anyone tell me what's in the box?

The irony is I already have this game (the jewel case double pack with Soulbringer), and didn't really like it, and was recently considering getting rid of it. What can I say, I'm a sucker for big boxes.

EDIT: I posted this in the wrong forum. Bad mod.

[Jeysie]

*gasps*

*falls over*

*twitches on the ground for a while*

*crawls to her knees*

You didn't like it?! How come? I'd consider Planescape one of the best games I've played.

It has its flaws, to be sure... the main one being that the combat mechanics are a bit weak. But IMHO the story, dialogue, and character interaction are near unbeatable.

As for the box question, I also own the budget version, so I can't help there unfortunately.

Peace & Luv, Liz

[fov]

Too much reading. And I didn't like the way the combat worked. And I had trouble figuring out how to play, in general, and reading a 100-page manual to figure it out didn't appeal to me.

I know I'm one of the few. I just never really got into it.

[eriq]

Originally Posted by fov

... and didn't really like it, and was recently considering getting rid of it. What can I say, I'm a sucker for big boxes.

omgoodness. Planescape Torment was a masterpiece of RPG gaming goodness. Truly a classic!!! I am virutally whipping your ass for not enjoying it more!

[samIamsad]

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeellllllll. I bought it in German back then. Usually, some stuff got cut and/or replaced over here, back in the times when game boxes still contained mighty fine extras. Like: Cloth maps(US), paper maps (Germany). Big, fat, nice monster manuals (US), small, tiny-fonted somethings (Germany).

As far as I can remember, my box contained some kind of two-sided, pretty big poster (with descriptions of some locales on the back and some artwork of the main character on the front), a not_so_hefty manual and a 4-disc-jewelcase.

Ironically, I still own some posters I once won on a "Torment" fan site, but not the game anymore. You may well spell that R.E.G.R.E.T. and shed a tear with me over this.

[fov]

Originally Posted by eriq

omgoodness. Planescape Torment was a masterpiece of RPG gaming goodness. Truly a classic!!! I am virutally whipping your ass for not enjoying it more!

At least I'm honest.

Still, I'm really tempted to open the box.

[samIamsad]

Could it be the Memorial Box, even?



This includes collector's cards amonst other things. *dies*

[Jeysie]

Too much reading? Aw, c'mon. Isn't this an adventure gaming forum? Aren't we used to reading lots of messages and dialogue?

I will agree about the combat mechanics; they were kind of meh, and the only saving grace is that you could avoid combat almost completely and still finish the game. I think the game would have worked better if they had somehow abstracted the combat into being more adventure gamey/puzzley. Instead the combat just felt tacked on.

Still, if most games had the same depth of plot, atmosphere, and character, I'd be a blissfully happy gamer. (Though to be fair there are several games I'd say come pretty damn close, and I can't speak for most modern games.)

Peace & Luv, Liz

[avatar_58]

I found this game for $5.00 CAD, but I still have yet to play through it. From what I tried it seemed like an amazing game. Gotta remember to start it again sometime.

[samIamsad]

Originally Posted by Jeysie

I will agree about the combat mechanics; they were kind of meh, and the only saving grace is that you could avoid combat almost completely and still finish the game. I think the game would have worked better if they had somehow abstracted the combat into being more adventure gamey/puzzley. Instead the combat just felt tacked on.

Still, if most games had the same depth of plot, atmosphere, and character, I'd be a blissfully happy gamer. (Though to be fair there are several games I'd say come pretty damn close, and I can't speak for most modern games.)

I always enjoyed the combat in the Infinity engine games ("Baldur's Gate", "Icewind Dale", and so on). Looked like real-time, but wasn't really. The only real problem was the clunky path-finding routine, especially in narrow dungeons. I think they made some changes in the interface for PS:T, but I can't remember what they changed exactly.

If you liked the depth of the character interaction in PS:T, you might enjoy "Knights Of The Old Republic", even if you're not a Star Wars buff (I know I am NOT). Or even its sequel that was written by the author of "Torment" (Chris Avellone). It's all there: Moral dilemma, kickass writing, and so on. Granted, it's not as deep as "Torment", but what is?

[artwking4]

I got about an hour into the game and couldn't get over how incredibly slow the characters in Torment moved. That kind of sucks in a 50-hour RPG.

[eriq]

Originally Posted by samIamsad

I always enjoyed the combat in the Infinity engine games ("Baldur's Gate", "Icewind Dale", and so on). Looked like real-time, but wasn't really.

Yea, can't quite put a finger on what it was exactly that made all of the Infinity Engine games SO good. It was just that certain something. I must have spent a good two months on Baldur's Gate 2. The Icewind Dale games were also fantastic.

And they all had amazing soundtracks.

[Crunchy in milk]

If you pick up the tomb of cheats mod for torment I believe you can give yourself speedy boots or something to fix that, along with some other nifty bits and pieces. I tend to tack on a few stat points myself, so many dialogues include stat checks.

Torment does come close to a text adventure. If you only read one little thing in the manual I'd suggest reading a bit about statistics. Or find a 'cliffs notes' to character building on gamefaqs.

I'm sure a lot of people drop the game early into it. The atmosphere of Sigil is just conveyed too well I think. It really is a depressing and unfriendly place to start. The game picks up when you get a party going, get a little support and some fresh perspectives on the game universe other than the rather bleak outlooks of the average NPCs and villains you face. As the Nameless One, my curiosity about my past wasn't really piqued until I started to consider how it could effect the people in my party.

Hands down Torment has the best NPCs to join your party. Very interesting stories, well written (and acted) and couldn't be more varied (thanks in part to the wonderful planescape setting). Nothing since has come close, not Kotor, not K2, not Jade Empire all of which suffer from rather hollow npcs who have almost no effect on nor connection to the storyline.

[avatar_58]

Originally Posted by Crunchy in milk

Torment does come close to a text adventure. If you only read one little thing in the manual I'd suggest reading a bit about statistics. Or find a 'cliffs notes' to character building on gamefaqs.

It gives me the same impression I loved from Ultima VII. An RPG that has enough content and scope to please fans, yet has a deeper plot and character development much like an adventure game. The best type of RPG in my eyes.

[Starflux]

I have to play this game once.

[Spiwak]

Originally Posted by artwking4

I got about an hour into the game and couldn't get over how incredibly slow the characters in Torment moved. That kind of sucks in a 50-hour RPG.

I think if you hold down SHIFT your characters will run. There might be a spot in the Options for automatic running, as well.

Dude, fov.....you need to play this game. I don't know what you and Jeysie are complaining about with the fighting...if I recall it's exactly the same as the Baldur's Gate/Infinity Engine games (and incidentally, very very similar to the KotOR games), which I really liked, turn-based that plays like real-time and what-not.

And I played this game first when I was like 10, and I never got bored (and I'm pretty sure I have ADD) with it or the reading. Seriously.....just play it. You'll get into the story before you know it.

[kuddles]

This game bored me to tears. While I appreciated the idea of actually roleplaying, there was still an insane amount of reading, and no way to decipher if it was all backstory or would become important. The combat got pretty tedious. After resorting to a walkthrough for the third time because I was supposed to go to an area that I didn't know existed because of the horrible pathfinding, I decided to call it quits.

[Jayel]

Torment is possibly the best game I've ever played. I play other RPGs in hopes of filling the huge void Torment left me, but no, I'm just fooling myself. There's no game quite like it.

I didn't realize there was a "Memorial Box" edition. My boxed copy (a north american release) contains:
flimsy cardboard case that contains 4 discs
40 page instruction manual
troubleshooting guide
a leaflet advertising interplay games

No maps, no posters, no collectible cards, no nothing.

[Jeysie]

Originally Posted by Spiwak

Dude, fov.....you need to play this game. I don't know what you and Jeysie are complaining about with the fighting...if I recall it's exactly the same as the Baldur's Gate/Infinity Engine games (and incidentally, very very similar to the KotOR games), which I really liked, turn-based that plays like real-time and what-not.

I know that Planescape used a *version* of the Baldur's Gate combat engine, but IIRC there were several changes to it. I haven't played any other games with that engine, though, so I can't weigh in on it.

It's been a while since I've gotten to play the game, but I remember that the combat pretty much consisted of "pause, tell everyone to slice the enemy and maybe throw a spell or two, unpause, wait, lather, rinse, repeat until enemies dead". Also, everything was so close quarters that slinging spells and Nordom's bolts weren't as useful as they otherwise might be. (I still loved Nordom though, he was so adorable!)

The fact that the game was so focused on storytelling just made the combat even more jarring. I kept wanting to skip over it as much as possible so I could get back to the greater fun of the character stuff.

Originally Posted by samIamsad

If you liked the depth of the character interaction in PS:T, you might enjoy "Knights Of The Old Republic", even if you're not a Star Wars buff (I know I am NOT). Or even its sequel that was written by the author of "Torment" (Chris Avellone). It's all there: Moral dilemma, kickass writing, and so on. Granted, it's not as deep as "Torment", but what is?

Yes, I have had my eye on the KOTOR games... I'll probably pick them up at some point when I have more time and money.

Originally Posted by kuddles

This game bored me to tears. While I appreciated the idea of actually roleplaying, there was still an insane amount of reading, and no way to decipher if it was all backstory or would become important.

Aw c'mon... again, I thought we were all adventure game fans? I have to admit I find it rather odd to hear people who enjoy a genre of games that generally involve exploring a story to complain of too much reading and backstory.

In any case, in Planescape specifically, virtually all the info was important... part of the info was important to solving quests, and the other part of the info was important to giving the "solving info" context and motivation.

Peace & Luv, Liz

[eriq]

Originally Posted by Jeysie

Aw c'mon... again, I thought we were all adventure game fans? I have to admit I find it rather odd to hear people who enjoy a genre of games that generally involve exploring a story to complain of too much reading and backstory.

Strange isn't it? I loved the backstory in Planescape. And the characters were so rich.